Tutorial 3: Using Matrices

This tutorial introduces the concept of matrices and shows how to use them. The Vertices sample project rendered 2-D vertices to draw a triangle. However, in this tutorial you will be working with transformations of vertices in 3-D. Matrices are also used to set up cameras and viewports.

Before the Matrices sample project renders geometry, it calls the SetupMatrices application-defined function to create and set the matrix transformations that are used to render the 3-D triangle. Typically, three types of transformation are set for a 3-D scene. Steps for creating each one of these typical transformations are listed below.

The order in which these transformation matrices are created does not affect the layout of the objects in a scene. However, Microsoft?Direct3D?applies the matrices to the scene in the following order: (1) World ,(2) View, (3) Projection.

The sample code in the Matrices project is nearly identical to the sample code in the Vertices project. The Using Matrices tutorial focuses only on the code unique to matrices and does not cover initializing Direct3D, handling Microsoft Windows?messages, rendering, or shutting down. For information about these tasks, see Tutorial 1: Creating a Device.

This tutorial uses custom vertices and a vertex buffer to display geometry. For more information about selecting a custom vertex type and implementing a vertex buffer, see Tutorial 2: Rendering Vertices.